March 2 (Reuters) – Connecticut Attorney General George
Jepsen’s office said on Monday it has launched an investigation
into Lenovo Group Ltd’s sales of laptops preloaded
with Superfish software, which the U.S. government last month
warned made users vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The office said that Jepsen last week sent letters to
Lenovo, the world’s biggest personal computer maker, and
privately held software maker Superfish asking them to provide
information, including contracts and emails that discuss their
partnership.

AMSTERDAM/BOSTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – A cybercrime ring that
used 3.2 million hacked computers worldwide to steal banking
information by seizing control of servers has been disrupted by
European police and technology companies, officials said on
Wednesday.

Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre coordinated the
operation out of its headquarters in The Hague, targeting the
so-called Ramnit botnet, a network of computers infected with
malware.

BOSTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Friday
advised Lenovo Group Ltd customers to remove
“Superfish,” a program pre-installed on some Lenovo laptops,
saying it makes users vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The Department of Homeland Security said in an alert that
the program makes users vulnerable to a type of cyberattack
known as SSL spoofing, in which remote attackers can read
encrypted web traffic, redirect traffic from official websites
to spoofs, and perform other attacks.

BOSTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday advised Lenovo Group Ltd customers to remove a software program known as “Superfish,” which the agency said the world’s No. 1 PC maker started installing on machines as early as 2010.

The Department of Homeland Security said in an alert released through its National Cyber Awareness System that the software made users vulnerable to a type of cyberattack known as SSL spoofing.

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) – Security experts are warning healthcare and insurance companies that 2015 will be the “Year of the Healthcare Hack,” as cybercriminals are increasingly attracted to troves of personal information held by U.S. insurers and hospitals that command high prices on the underground market.

Anthem Inc, the No. 2 U.S. health insurer, last week disclosed a massive breach of its database containing nearly 80 million records, prompting investigations by state and federal authorities. That hack followed a breach last year at hospital operator Community Health Systems, which compromised some 4.5 million records.

BOSTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Ten U.S. states have sent a
letter to Anthem Inc complaining that the company has
been too slow in notifying consumers that they were victims of a
massive data breach disclosed last week.

“The delay in notifying those impacted is unreasonable and
is causing unnecessary added worry to an already concerned
population of Anthem customers,” said the letter, which was sent
on Tuesday by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen on
behalf of Connecticut and nine other states.

BOSTON (Reuters) – The Forbes.com financial news site was infected by Chinese hackers with spying software that targeted specific visitors, including those at U.S. financial services and defense firms, according to two cybersecurity firms.

Gov Baker declares State of Emergency in Massachusetts. Surrounding states to provide assistance, he says. #Snowmageddon2015

About Jim

"Jim works in the Reuters Boston bureau covering cyber security, hacking and technology privacy issues. He’s been with Reuters since 2005. He previously covered technology, media and biotechnology for Broadcasting & Cable, the Orange County Register and Bloomberg News out Tokyo, Taipei, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Ana, California."